QueensWay Study To Begin in September

The study to determine the cost for the proposed QueensWay is set to begin early next month.

The Trust for Public Land announced the two firms that will lead the feasibility and planning study for the QueensWay, a proposed 3.5-mile bike and pedestrian path that would run between Ozone Park and Rego Park.

The two firms selected, WXY Architecture & urban design and dlandstudio, were chosen out of 29 proposals submitted, TPL officials said at a Tuesday morning news conference in Forest Hills.

Its purpose is to figure out how much it would cost to turn the dormant stretch of land into the green space and determine what the community would want in the proposed pedestrian walkway similar to The High Line in Manhattan. Andrea Crawford, a member of Friends of the QueensWay and member of Community Board 9, said that the response to the proposed parkland has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Whether we’re taking our kids to school, eating in restaurants, [or] simply talking to neighbors, the level of excitement in Central and Southern Queens is off the charts,” she said. “How exciting is it that we will create 55 acres of new linear park space, when we’re being told there is no more park space.”

The study itself will take 10 months to complete TPL members said Tuesday. It will be funded mostly through a $467,000 grant given to the organization by Gov. Andrew Cuomo last year. An additional $140,000 will come from the Dept. of Environmental Protection towards environmental assessments.

Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Ozone Park) released a statement in the wake of their announcement, restating his support for reactivating the Rockaway Beach Long Island Rail Road Line.

“The current lack of public transit options in Queens is strangling our businesses and hurting our families and I will continue to work with my colleagues and the Governor to completely restore the abandoned rail line,” he said in the statement.